Google removes Adblock Fast app from Play Store, others to follow?

Its reason? An nearly vague reference to a policy violation that disallows one app from disrupting the functions of another. Third party developers quickly responded by launching ad-blocking mobile apps that work with the browser. According to the report, Adblock Fast’s developers were sent an email from Google that stated they had violated Section 4.4 within the Developer Distribution Agreement, and told them it’s a “policy strike” that saw the apps removal from the digital storefront.

Ad blocking on mobile devices is gaining popularity thanks to Apple’s iOS 9, which has built-in support for content blockers, and a growing number of options on Android.

A Google spokesperson refused to comment on Adblock Fast but said: “We can confirm that our policies are created to provide a great experience for users and developers”. Google has, in its officially capacity as the final arbiter of Android’s official app store, removed an ad blocking app approved and advertised by Samsung from Google Play Store.

The fact that Adblock Fast was using an official API from Samsung within that company’s own app, sanctioned by Samsung’s own teams, suggests that the app wasn’t doing all of these things.

Apparently, Google – which just so happens to be in the ad business itself – is not a fan of this new functionality. The app quickly become the top free app on Google Play in the “Productivity” category, but has since been banned from Google Play. Additionally, browsers that block ads natively haven’t been taken down.

Samsung brought adblocking to mobile browser this week which promptly caught the ire of Google. No word on whether the developers will find a way around this, or if Samsung might get involved, but for now it looks like if you missed out on download Adblock Fast, you’re out of luck (or you’ll have to find its APK from elsewhere). It did interfere with ads on web pages, so Google could be taking issue with that, but what’s odd is that the Adblock Plus app for Samsung’s browser is still live in Google Play.

Given the situation at hand, it seems that Samsung will need to re-evaluate how its ad-blocking feature is being implemented.